OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The fact the Cleveland Browns enjoyed a bye week in between playing the Baltimore Ravens in consecutive games did not elude Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale.
"In the 17 years I’ve been in the league, I don’t think I ever had a team [play us], have a bye week and then come back and play us,” Martindale said.
It’s because this exact situation hasn’t happened in the NFL since the 1970 merger.
In a three-week span, the Ravens defeated the Browns 16-10 in Baltimore, lost a heartbreaking 20-19 decision in Pittsburgh and now travel to play the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Meanwhile, the Browns played in Baltimore, had their bye and now host the Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The only similar scheduling quirk over the past 51 years occurred in 1991, when the Chargers and Seahawks faced each other in consecutive games. They met in Weeks 9 and 11 but both teams had a bye in between.
It’s not ideal for a Ravens team that holds a one-game lead in the AFC North, but it’s not an oddity that they’ve publicly complained about.
"It’s not something that I’m really thinking about,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "There are always challenges and difficulties that you have to deal with, whether it’s schedule or whatever it is. So, we just deal with it and play the game. That’s all we’re thinking about.”
Other teams have encountered difficult schedules, too. The 49ers and Seahawks are traveling over 28,000 miles this season. The Falcons have nine road games in addition to a game in London. The Raiders play an NFL-leading four games on short rest.
For the Ravens (8-4), this is the first time since 2018 that they’ve had to play back-to-back road games in the division. Baltimore is coming off a hard-fought, last-minute loss in Pittsburgh, where it lost Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey (torn pectoral muscle) for the season and starting right tackle Patrick Mekari (hand) for at least one game. The Browns’ biggest problem coming off the bye is three players (tight end David Njoku, linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. and punter Jamie Gillan) getting placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
"It’s the NFL, man. We can’t make the schedules,” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said. "We can’t make the bye weeks and stuff like that. We’ve just got to go out there and play, and that’s all I can do.”
History suggests the Browns will need all the help they can get against Baltimore. The Ravens have won 23 of 27 meetings since Harbaugh became coach of Baltimore in 2008, winning four straight.
This time, the Browns (6-6) are 2.5-point favorites over the Ravens, which is just the fifth game in 46 all-time meetings that Cleveland has been favored over Baltimore (and the first time since 2015).
“I guess they have a little advantage -- just being healthy, but nobody cares,” Ravens cornerback Anthony Averett said about the Browns coming off the bye. "It’s the AFC North, so we’ve just got to continue to play hard.”